July 25: The Father of Kabbalah

Rabbi Isaac Luria, the kabbalist who introduced many mystical concepts into Judaism, died on this date in 1572 at the age of 38 in Sfat (Safed), which he had helped to establish as the key center of Jewish mysticism. Among the many concepts of contemporary Kabbalah that he posited were tzimtzum, God’s contraction to make room for Creation, and the “shattering of the vessels,” or sefirot, during the first, failed creation, which introduced evil into the universe and established tikkun olam, the gathering of the shards through the performance of mitzvot, as a human responsibility. As an explanation of evil and a promise of redemption, Luria’s teachings became very popular within a Jewish population that had only recent undergone the expulsion from Spain and Portugal. His influence would eventually extend to Shabtai Zevi, the self-proclaimed messiah of the mid-17th century, and to modern-day hassidism.

“He has no place, no boundary, no name . . .” —Isaac Luria, “Tree of Life”